This invention relates generally to agricultural balers typically referred to as round balers which form cylindrical (i.e. round) bales of crop material.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,870,812 granted Oct. 3, 1989 to R. E. Jennings et al. discloses a round baler wherein a sledge assembly consisting of a plurality of rollers cooperates with an apron consisting of a plurality of belts to define a bale forming chamber. The sledge assembly is movable between bale starting and full bale positions during bale formation. A drawback of the baler disclosed in the Jennings et al patent is that it is difficult to employ conventional wrapping apparatus such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,366,665 to R. M. Van Ginhoven et al. and 4,790,125 to J. H. Merritt because the throat or inlet for the bale forming chamber is more confined on the baler of the Jennings et al patent. Furthermore, there is less space on the baler of the Jennings et al. patent for mounting the conventional wrapping apparatus of the Van Ginhoven et al. and Merritt patents.